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| 22 октября, 2014

As long as there is Putin - there is Russia. Without Putin - there is no Russia.

The 11 th season of the international discussion group ‘Valdai’ met on 22 nd October in Sochi. Over the next threedays political scientists and international experts plan to hold over ten plenary sessions and round tables discussions debating issues surrounding Russian and world politics. The key topics will include the crisis in the Middle East, development scenarios for Ukraine, issues surrounding global competition and the ‘rules of the game’ in the modern world.

Konstantin Kostin, head of the Foundation for Civil Society Development (FCSD), told Izvestia that Vyacheslav Voldin, first deputy head of the Presidential Administration, opened the proceedings on the first day by explaining Russia’s position on various key issues.

‘’Volodin voiced a key phrase’ said Kostin ‘which clearly reflects the current state of our country and the opinion of its people: “As long as there is Putin - then there is Russia. Without Putin - then there is no Russia.”

Nikolai Zlobin, President of the Centre for Global Interests, opened the debate by asking the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration what internal political repercussions the sanctions from the West could have on Russia. Volodin replied by saying that anyone who thought that the sanctions would split Russia and demoralize the country were profoundly mistaken. Volodin explained to the audience that Western politicians do not understand the essence of Russia; it’s framework and its principles, while Russians now perceive the sanctions not so much as an attack on the President as an attack on their country - and indeed on them personally.

Kostin also told ‘Izvestia’ that Volodin believes that Western sanctions have actually served to unite the Russian people because Russian citizens remember the past and value the stability and better standards of living which are a result of the politics of Vladimir Putin. Voldin backed this statement up with data from the most recent large scale survey carried out by the Foundation for Public Opinion which shows that support for the President’s political strategy stands at 84 percent. More than 65 percent of those surveyed view Putin as the only logical candidate in presidential elections.